Department for Transport

Chris Grayling

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer byBaroness Sugg on 13 March (HL14243), whether they will list the meetings conducted by the Secretary of State for Transport on 4 March with the times at which each such meeting took place.

baroness sugg: I refer to my previous answer of 13 March – the Secretary of State had a range of meetings with officials, Ministers, agencies and MPs on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 March.

Department for Education

Pre-school Education: Finance

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the £24million of additional funding for maintained nursery schools will be distributed; and what estimate they have made of the amount per capita.

lord agnew of oulton: Since 2017, we have been providing around £60 million per year of supplementary funding to local authorities so that they could maintain funding levels for maintained nursery schools (MNS). We listened to concerns about the timing of the 2019 Spending Review and announced that we would provide some local authorities with further supplementary funding, of around £24 million, to enable them to continue the same levels of funding for their MNS for the whole of the 2019/20 academic year. That additional funding will be distributed on the same basis as the current supplementary funding. Full details of current arrangements can to found in the attached technical note and at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formula-allocations-and-guidance.All early years’ entitlement funding is allocated on the basis of number of hours delivered, using data from the annual Early Years and Childcare Providers census. No estimate has been made of the funding on a per capita basis.



Early_Years_National_Funding_Formula_Technical_Not
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Schools: Finance

lord oates: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy with regard to parents of state funded schools being asked to provide funding to support the operations of those schools.

lord agnew of oulton: The department is committed to ensuring that state education remains free for school age children.Schools cannot charge for education provided during the school day. Schools are also unable to charge for education outside of the school day where that education is provided in pursuance of a duty to provide the national curriculum, as part of a prescribed public examination or part of religious studies.Nothing in legislation prohibits schools from asking parents for donations for any school activity. However, it must be clear that the request is voluntary and children must not be treated differently based on whether or not they made a contribution.

Female Genital Mutilation: Primary Education

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to educate primary school children about the harmful effects of FGM as part of relationships and sex education; and to include any such information in any relevant guidance issued to teachers.

lord agnew of oulton: The government is committed to protecting young people from harm, including the horrific crime of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), perpetrated against some of the most vulnerable children in society. Through the introduction of compulsory relationships and sex education (RSE) in all secondary schools, we will ensure that pupils are fully aware of the illegality of FGM and that it will not be tolerated. This has been included, alongside topics such as honour-based abuse, grooming, forced marriage and domestic abuse, as core content for secondary pupils in the updated draft statutory guidance for relationships education, RSE and health education. Through these subjects we want to support all children to be healthy, happy and safe; arming them with the knowledge to recognise unhealthy behaviour in relationships, and how to seek help when necessary.At primary level, we are introducing compulsory relationships education for all pupils, to put in place the building blocks for developing healthy relationships. There is no statutory requirement for schools to deliver teaching on FGM at primary, but schools are free to build on the core content to reflect the needs of their cohort of pupils. If a school considers the teaching of FGM to be age-appropriate for their pupils at primary, they are free to deliver this.There will be a legal requirement for schools to consult with parents in the development of their policies for both relationships education and RSE. During this consultation, schools should share example resources with parents and ensure they understand the age-appropriate content that their child will receive. Schools will continue to be free to choose materials that are age-appropriate and sensitive to the needs of their pupils. Many organisations already provide high quality resources to support this teaching – schools can consider, for example, drawing on the expertise of the main subject associations, who also quality assure third party resources from expert organisations on specific topics.We have committed to supporting schools and teachers to deliver these subjects to a high standard. We have an initial budget of £6 million for the 2019-20 financial year to develop a programme of support for schools, which will include supporting them to make appropriate choices regarding resources.

Free School Meals: Employment and Support Allowance

baroness sherlock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of individuals who were identified as entitled to income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) but who were moved to contributory-based ESA from Incapacity Benefit who were eligible for freeschool mealsthat they were then unable to claim as a result of that move; and what plans they have to compensate those individuals for any charges paid for such meals.

lord agnew of oulton: We are working closely with officials at the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to understand the impact of the Employment and Support Allowance legal entitlements and administrative practice exercise and any potential issues arising from it.

Erasmus+ Programme

baroness warwick of undercliffe: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byViscount Younger of Leckie on 11 March (HL Deb, cols 831–3), what progress has been made on discussions about a domestic alternative to Erasmus+; and what plans they have to consult with higher education organisations about any such scheme.

viscount younger of leckie: The government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a global Britain. We are open to participation in the successor Erasmus+ scheme (2021/27) though this will ultimately be subject to wider UK-EU negotiations on the future partnership. We are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives. As part of this process, the Department for Education (DfE) is listening to stakeholder views. We have also noted and are considering the recommendations from the recent House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee on the future of Erasmus+.Further to this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, Science and Innovation meet with representatives of universities regularly to discuss the DfE agenda, and that has included the question of international exchanges following the UK’s exit from the EU.As we progress our thinking and work on our plans for the possibility of participation in the successor Erasmus+ programme or a domestic alternative, we will continue to engage with and seek the views of sector stakeholders, among others.

Post-18 Education and Funding Review

lord watson of invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have taken place, or are planned, with HM Treasury regarding the balancing of funding between colleges and universities as a result of the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding.

viscount younger of leckie: The review is taking a systemic view of provision and funding across the post-18 education and funding landscape. The lead departments, including Her Majesty’s Treasury, are continuing to work together to make progress with the review so we can deliver a post-18 education system that is accessible to all, delivers the skills that the country needs and is value for money for both the taxpayer and students.